ANDERSON COUNTY, Feb. 10, 2012—Anderson County DPS officials and other entities are searching the Lake Palestine area for the 82-year-old pilot, Fred Scholz, of a single-engine Varga MOR2 plane that was found submerged in the lake around 6 a.m. Thursday morning after teams had been searching throughout the night.
 
DPS officials are reporting that the plane appears to be intact, and believe that it may have had a soft landing in the lake. The plane was discovered approximately 300 yards from the lake’s shoreline and about 600 yards short of the Aero Estates Airport runway.
 
Scholz reportedly took off around 5:40 p.m. Wednesday from the Cherokee County Airport between Jacksonville and Rusk, but never reached the Aero Estates Airport in Berryville.
 
When the aircraft did not arrive at the airport, a representative of the Air Force Rescue and Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida requested that the Civil Air Patrol conduct aerial and ground searches.
 
The FAA released the following statement concerning the Lake Palestine plane crash:
 
“The airplane was a single-engine Varga MOR2. It was flying from Jacksonville, TX, to Frankston yesterday when it crashed into Lake Palestine under unknown circumstances. The search began after concerned family members reported that the aircraft was overdue, with one person on board.”
 
A release from the Texas Wing of the Civic Air Patrol states:
 
“In a team effort the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas Wing, Civil Air Patrol (CAP), have found the missing aircraft, a Varga that was flying from Jacksonville, Texas to Frankston, Texas. The aircraft took off at approximately 5:40 pm Wednesday and failed to arrive at its intended destination. The aircraft was found off the Aero Estates Airport in Lake Palestine.
 
The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) at Tyndall AFB, Florida requested Civil Air Patrol (CAP) to conduct aerial and ground searches Wednesday evening after the aircraft was reported overdue. CAP requested support from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as radar forensic reports narrowed the search to the Lake Palestine area. Both departments confirmed that the aircraft had been found by the lake patrol’s side scan sonar.